More than 40 HP so I can cruise on the motorway
Less than 80 HP so I don't get more speeding points or pay for the In-sewer-ants Christmas **** up.
One or two cylinders, three at a push for simplicity.
Fuel injection that's been in production for over three years.
Air or oil cooled for simplicity.
At least one disk brake or a very very sorted set of drums.
Rim sizes that give a choice of road, M&S and knobbly.
A full steel frame, not aluminium spines or load bearing engines.
Tubular bars that can be widened and raised by simple metal work.
Reverse gear in the box, not the starter motor.
Enough fuel for 300 miles.
A dealer in every town with over 200,000 residents.
A design that doesn't get updated more than twice a decade.
A bike that is under £6000 and under 10 years old.

I don't want much do I :eek1

So, what did I get? The Bonneville fails on the FI (2004 model), reverse gear, range and dealership coverage. The range I sorted, the dealers I can live with, the carbs work and the mk2 could be a 2007/8 fitted to the same chair.

The alternatives I guess could be anything from a BM air head through Kawasaki ER's and W650's to Honda CB's or maybe even a HD Sportster.

My perfect bike I think, could hopefully be something Ural has on a CAD station somewhere.

More than 40 HP so I can cruise on the motorway
Less than 80 HP so I don't get more speeding points or pay for the In-sewer-ants Christmas **** up.
One or two cylinders, three at a push for simplicity.
Fuel injection that's been in production for over three years.
Air or oil cooled for simplicity.
At least one disk brake or a very very sorted set of drums.
Rim sizes that give a choice of road, M&S and knobbly.
A full steel frame, not aluminium spines or load bearing engines.
Tubular bars that can be widened and raised by simple metal work.
Reverse gear in the box, not the starter motor.
Enough fuel for 300 miles.
A dealer in every town with over 200,000 residents.
A design that doesn't get updated more than twice a decade.
A bike that is under £6000 and under 10 years old.

I don't want much do I :eek1

So, what did I get? The Bonneville fails on the FI (2004 model), reverse gear, range and dealership coverage. The range I sorted, the dealers I can live with, the carbs work and the mk2 could be a 2007/8 fitted to the same chair.

The alternatives I guess could be anything from a BM air head through Kawasaki ER's and W650's to Honda CB's or maybe even a HD Sportster.

My perfect bike I think, could hopefully be something Ural has on a CAD station somewhere.

Lack of dealers would be an issue too, but basically yes it would. I don't think I'd go for one as I'm a rider and occasional mechanic rather than someone who'd ever dream of making spacers to put a different engine into a bike.

Actually, if I was to make my perfect bike it'd be a Diesel from a small car going onto a Ural type transmission. 100+ mpg, 500+ miles range, fuel available anywhere 4x4's go and 10,000 mile service intervals

I managed to loose half my points on an R1100R outfit. The thing was just unhappy at 30 mph (city limit) and would sit at 95 all day. This was a chair from Charnwood based on a DH Mosquito drop tank, so very easy through the air. One of the reasons I sold it was getting pulled at 47 in a 30. This is enough to get banned. I could have sworn I was doing no more than 35, but gave it throttle to take a left hander and it accelerated. I was lucky, the copper had better things to do than arrest me, gave me a basic speeding fine for doing 44 (then on 6 points, so halfway to getting banned). This is totally my fault of course, no excuses, but when a 60 hp machine will break every speed limit in the country, I don't need 80. Personal choice of course.

All the home made diesel conversions I've seen have been industrial engines, lots of torque but no rev range. I'm thinking more like something out of a Suberu

Ayuh! Put together by a wiley sidecarist in PA, I think...
mebbe' shoulda' used the "other" link, or is he still having problems w/geocities limiting the number of hits per day?classified ad w/descriptionpic's

*hoping this doesn't now get punted to fleamarket... just tryin' to help out!!

Triumph Tiger.
Steamer makes 85hp
955i makes 105 or so.
The line about a triple having the best bits of both twins and fours is pretty close to the mark.

Speed depends on your right wrist. You can't blame the bike if you get caught speeding around town.

Cruising speed will also depend on the aerodynamics of the chair. Mine's wide & tall, so my cruising speed is knocked around a lot. So too is my fuel consumption, but hey, I don't use an outfit 'cause it's cheap.

Im not an expert , but its a Honda, so technically OK and strong enough, but not very fuel efficient. They are pretty thirsty. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
<o></o>Some examples:

Well right now this is available on SteveEnglish.com for a steal... All I'd need to do is put lights/mirrors/turnsignals on it, get the brake/light inspection done, run it by the CHP and get the blue-tag on the frame, head to the DMV and get the engine ID verified, and them my CHP blue-tag paperwork, and walk out with my special-construction title, registration, and LICENSE PLATE.

Two problems... It's in the UK =( All my money is going into the race effort at the moment. I can't even rebuild the forks/shocks on the Ducati.

The first BMR chassis is for sale for those who have not seen the bike it is a monocoque chassis.

Specification:Brakes: Floating AP discs AP calipers and master cylinders all the same as the latest LCR F1 Chassis.Suspension: Fitted with the latest GP7 Maxton unitsChassis: The hubs are all Windle, the six wheels are all Windle 3 fitted with slicks 3 with wets, the tub is made from 2mm Ally with more bulkheads fitted than the Windles, this makes it a little heavier but very very strong and made to last. The geometry is the same as the LCR and everything is fully adjustable including the sidecar wheel.Engine: The chassis is fitted with a Suzuki GSXR 1000 K6 this engine is standard and was fitted with only 300 miles on it.Since when it has only done 1 x mallory practise day 2 x club meetings and 2 x British F1 Championship meetings. The engine does have a TRE and PC111 power commander fitted.Exhaust: Scorpion/Webbo Stainless steel full systemWiring: Loom built and fitted by Track Electronics of NorwichBodywork: The wheel arch, seat unit and centre section are standard unmodified LCR units, the main fairing is a slightly modified LCR fairing all purchased originally from Jason MillerPassenger Platform: This was made from composite materials not carbon fibre by Martek and includes a special non slip surface designed to help passengers get a grip in wet or dry conditions

At the mo im running an old bandit 1200 and RX4,this is great for me and it was cheap to boot,but if i was building a new one,then i think i would go with either the GSX 1400 which is a hell of a bike so much low down grunt,very good fuel economy,reliable and comfortable or maybe the FJR from Yamaha,this bike i have not ridden so nothing much to say about it,one thing it has in its favour is the shaft drive.the chair would be big maybe an oxford but with a fifteen inch wheel like the on below

one of my other fav chairs is this French example on the bandit,it just looks sweet,my guess is though it cost a bit more than the alloted 16k.

To get the center of gravity down so you can corner faster, you want to get the heaviest masses- the engine and rider- as low as possible. The BMW boxer twins and lengthwise engine K bikes and the Honda Gold Wing and Valkrie get the engine down low. Amongst those bikes, the BMW R1200C and the Valkrie do a good job of seating the riders mass low too. Total weight is a factor to consider as well as height- the heavier the tug, the heavier the hack needed to stabilize it. For example, my Buell "tuber" has a slightly higher CG than a Sportster, but weights around 50 kilos less so it's sort of a trade off.